Scones with jam and clotted cream: how much it costs to make, per portion
Twelve 7 cm plain scones, each served with 30 g of strawberry jam and a 40 g portion of Cornish clotted cream. Costed from JJ Foodservice wholesale prices dated 9 October 2026.
The lowest price is the one that just reaches 68% GP, the UK food GP benchmark (UKHospitality × Christie & Co, 2022: 65.9–69% food GP across every segment). It covers the ingredients at a normal margin, not staff, rent or energy, and most cafés, pubs and takeaways charge more for simple dishes. Check what places near you charge. GP is worked out on the ex-VAT price.
VAT: cold cake sold to take away is zero-rated; eaten on your premises (including your own tables outside) it is standard-rated at 20%. HMRC VAT Notice 709/1, section 4.1: “Cold takeaway food and drink is zero-rated, as long as it’s not of a type that’s always standard-rated” (Catering, takeaway food).
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Ingredients and cost, 12 portions
| Ingredient | Pack price | Pack size | Used | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Self-raising flour | £1.79 | 1500 g | 500 g | £0.60 |
| Baking powder | £1.79 | 800 g | 10 g | £0.02 |
| Unsalted butter | £30.49 | 5000 g | 125 g | £0.76 |
| Caster sugar | £21.49 | 12000 g | 60 g | £0.11 |
| Whole milk | £1.69 | 2000 ml | 250 ml | £0.21 |
| Eggs, medium | £3.49 | 30 each | 1 each | £0.12 |
| Table salt | £10.99 | 6000 g | 2 g | £0.00 |
| Strawberry jam | £10.99 | 3000 g | 360 g | £1.32 |
| Clotted cream, 40 g portions | £25.99 | 48 each | 12 each | £6.50 |
| Batch total | £9.64 | |||
| Per portion (÷ 12) | £0.80 | |||
Cost per line is pack price × (amount used ÷ pack size), the same sum the tool runs. Change one pack price and every line that uses it moves.
What it really costs: waste and staff time
| Ingredients | £0.80 |
| Waste allowance, 5% (trim, ends, the odd one binned) | £0.04 |
| Staff time: 20 min hands-on for the batch of 12 at £12.71/hr + 25% on-cost | £0.44 |
| Food, waste and staff per portion | £1.28 |
At the lowest price (£2.51 ex VAT) that is 51% of the price, before rent, energy and everything else. Many UK sites aim to keep food plus staff (prime cost) at or under 60–65% of sales. The staff line counts hands-on prep only, not unattended cooking, and uses the April 2026 National Living Wage; put your own rate, minutes and waste in the calculator's real cost section or the prime cost calculator. Every dish side by side: the UK dish cost index.
Method
- Heat the oven to 220 °C. Rub the butter into the flour, baking powder and salt until it looks like breadcrumbs, then stir in the sugar.
- Add the milk (keep a little back) and mix to a soft dough with a knife; do not knead.
- Pat out to 3 cm thick, cut with a 7 cm cutter without twisting, brush the tops with beaten egg and bake for 10-12 minutes.
- Serve warm with the jam and clotted cream.
Costing notes
The scone itself is cheap: about 15p of ingredients each. The clotted cream portion is the most expensive single item on the plate, at more than the scone.
A cream tea priced at £5-£7 with a pot of tea is a high-margin line; the tea bag and milk add only a few pence more.
Where the prices came from
JJ Foodservice collection prices as shown on its public search pages on 9 October 2026 (delivery runs about £1-2 a case higher). A few lines JJ did not list in that day's searches reuse the dated prices already on our other starter recipes (7 September 2026, JJ Foodservice or Tesco retail, marked on each line). JJ does not label VAT on most lines: raw food is zero-rated in the UK, while soft drinks, alcohol, confectionery and some ingredients carry standard-rate VAT. Your supplier's price is the one that matters: open the recipe and type it in.
- Self-raising flour: Wright's Self Raising Flour 1x1.5kg, 1.5 kg, £1.79 collection — JJ Foodservice, accessed 2026-10-09
- Baking powder: JJ Signature Baking Powder 1x800g, 800 g, £1.79 collection — JJ Foodservice, accessed 2026-10-09
- Unsalted butter: Lakeland Unsalted Butter 20x250g (DAI186), 5 kg, £30.49 collection — JJ Foodservice, accessed 2026-10-09
- Caster sugar: Tate & Lyle Caster Sugar 6x2kg (SPI083), 12 kg, £21.49 collection — JJ Foodservice, accessed 2026-10-09
- Whole milk: Fresh Whole Milk 1x2L (DAI005), 2 L, £1.69 collection — JJ Foodservice, accessed 2026-10-09
- Eggs, medium: Medium Eggs Size 3 1x30, 30 each, £3.49 collection — JJ Foodservice, accessed 2026-10-09
- Table salt: DP Table Salt Tub 1x6kg (SPI277), 6 kg, £10.99 collection — JJ Foodservice, accessed 2026-10-09
- Strawberry jam: Strawberry Jam 1x3kg, 3 kg, £10.99 collection — JJ Foodservice, accessed 2026-10-09
- Clotted cream, 40 g portions: Roddas Cornish Clotted Cream 48x40g (CRE018), 48 each, £25.99 collection — JJ Foodservice, accessed 2026-10-09
More costed dishes: bakery and cakes
- Chocolate brownies — £0.33 a portion
- Carrot cake with cream cheese frosting — £0.49 a portion
- Victoria sponge — £0.37 a portion